Dusk II: Sacrifice
by backwardmoosetuesday
Summary: Fate draws four friends back to Forks where they must deal with angry vampires, jealous lovers, and the ghosts of their own mistakes. Choices and sacrifices must be made as the stakes are raised by a familiar enemy.
1. Plans

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Any original content, however, is probably mine.

**A/N:** This is actually the second part to a previous story, also on this site, called Dusk. If you haven't read the original, I highly reccomend you do so before you begin reading this part, as much of it will not make sense without information in the first part. Also, just a reminder that the four main characters are real people, people that I know, and some of the content contained in later chapters may anger some people. That being said, I did try to keep the characters as close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote them, though I know I could never get them perfect. If you feel so inspired, please feel free to review with criticism or compliments.

**Chapter 14 -- Plans**

The large stone chamber stood silent, completely devoid of life. Its circular, cracked walls were completely bare, a thin layer of dust coating them evenly. The air was stagnant and old, barely even breathable. A single wooden door hung limply on its hinges in the wall, well worn through with age and rats.

Without the warning of approaching footsteps, the pitiful door was pushed open and it slammed roughly against the wall, sending a copious amount of dust flying into the air, clouding the dark robed figure as it strode smoothly into the exact center of the small chamber, completely still. The dust slowly began to settle around the tall person as they stood, waiting for something. They didn't have to wait for long, fortunately. Not even ten minutes later, another robed figure entered the room, this one much smaller than the first. As the two mysterious intruders stood there staring at each other from under their hoods, the smaller one shut the door.

"You're late," the taller figure said in a deep voice as he swept his hood off in one smooth motion. His paper thin skin was almost translucent, and it matched the same color as his chalky white hair which hung down to his lower back. His eyes were a deep, blood red that seemed to reveal a part of his nature, their cautious, angry glares making him seem naturally aggressive.

"I hardly think that's my fault," a much higher pitched voice emitting from the smaller figure as she too removed her hood. She had the same red eyes as her taller counterpart, but her skin seemed to be tougher, thicker, and her hair was a dark red as opposed to the man's sallow white. In accordance with her stature, the girl didn't look like she could be much older than nine or ten, but the way she stood gave off the message that she was a force naught to be reckoned with. "Why you would want to meet me here of all places, I couldn't imagine. I had no idea these towers even existed here, do you have any idea how long it took me to find this room?"

"Longer than I would have liked," the man replied shortly. "I asked you here because of its infrequency of use, Jane. The matters I wish to discuss with you do not need to be overheard, and I trust that by the time anyone discovers we're missing, we'll be done and on our way back."

Jane's natural poisonous attitude was overpowered by her curiosity to hear her comrades information, and she held back her tongue. "Continue, Caius."

"According to your information," Caius began without any further introduction, "there is a new vampire in the ranks of the Cullens, correct?"

"Yes," Jane replied slowly. "Her name is Daisha. Marcus seemed to think she showed great promise for us."

"He's correct," Caius replied to Jane's shock. "Aro has told us all about her. Even for a newborn, she possesses unnatural speed and strength. As for her other ability... I think we're all a little excited about the prospect of that."

Jane couldn't help but silently agree with Caius. When Aro had revealed what Daisha's enhanced gift was, no one could help but wonder what it would be like to possess such power.

"However," Caius continued, "I don't think she would ever join our ranks, not with Carlisle filling her head with morals and vegetarian ideals. Not only that, but stupid... pitiful... Aro..." Caius spat Aro's name with such rage and hate that Jane had to take a step back for fear of being subjected to some punishment for merely hearing it. "He would never even consider taking her against her will. I grow weary of Aro's inability to act in the best interest of the Volturi though."

Jane stood silent for a moment, struggling with what Caius was suggesting. "So... You think we should find a way to take Daisha without Aro or Marcus finding out?"

"No," Caius said lowly, restraining an anger within himself. "I have no doubt that Marcus will join our ranks. He too is tired of Aro's insipid procedures. And if we had you, we could certainly count on Alec joining our cause as well, no?"

"You're talking a full blown revolution against Aro," Jane accused suddenly, not sure whether she was more frightened or impressed. "This has been tried before, and it's always met with failure. Aro's allies are too powerful!"

"Wrong!" Caius shouted, so loudly that Jane was sure that somewhere past the complicated maze of empty corridors and bridges she had traversed to get here, someone had to have heard him. "We are Aro's powerful allies! The only reason all other attacks on him have failed is because we stood by him in the past. This time, however, he will be alone and will fall easily! Without us, he is nothing!" Caius' eyes were wide, and Jane wondered vaguely if the look in them was passion or insanity.

"This isn't just about the newborn Daisha," Jane said thoughtfully. "There's more to this than you're letting on."

The ancient vampire's breathing slowed. "Yes... You're right. I'm dreadfully bored with our little game here. I'm sick of lying down and hiding from humanity as if we have something to be afraid of. We could completely obliterate the human race, do you realize that? Imagine -- A world full of vampires. No more hiding, Jane. Aro thinks we should keep our identities secret, trapped in this pathetic excuse for a home. We would keep a steady supply of humans for feeding purposes, of course, but they would no longer be the controlling species on this planet. We, the creatures of the night, will rise up. The Volturi will truly be a royal family then. No more hiding!"

Jane's mind was kicking into overdrive by the new information that Caius was presenting her with. On the one hand, she had to admit that she had had these very same thoughts before and was interested in what Caius proposed. However, Caius seemed to be acting strangely, almost too passionately than he normally did, and he may not be thinking clearly. A revolt against the Volturi has never been successful before, but then again, it has never been the Volturi who was doing the revolting.

"Well?" Caius demanded of her an answer. "Are you in for the better cause, or are you with that insipid Aro?"

Jane smiled sweetly up at him. She would play both fields for awhile and see who was going to end up on top before she made her final decision. For now, however, she decided to please Caius and give him what he thought he wanted. "I'm in," she promised, the malice in her voice mirroring the evil look in her eyes.

* * *

Joe slowly drove around the small city in which his parents lived, enjoying the familiar scenery that he had been missing the past few months. He had been attending an out of state university, hoping that a change of scenery would help him to reconnect with life. It had worked, to a certain degree. He no longer suffered from insomnia as he had when he first returned from Forks. However, any time he found himself getting to close to someone, even as a friend, he instinctively pushed them away, not feeling comfortable around people like he used to. He knew it wasn't healthy to live like he was, but he had no choice, and he was slowly trying to get back into a normal schedule.

Out of his drivers side window, Joe saw the all too familiar landscape of a cemetery, the old, grey headstones rising up out of the ground. Even though the sun was still high in the sky, that particular cemetery always gave him chills when he saw it. It probably had something to do with the two plots marked for two of his best friends, neither of which were dead.

The joint funeral for Jessica and Daisha brought back memories Joe would rather have put out from his mind for good. The look on Jessica's mother's face when they told her about the car accident that had taken her daughter's life was almost too much to bear; the way Daisha's mom had broken down when they had to tell her there was no body for her to bury was heart wrenching. However, they all somehow made it through.

Joe brought his car to a slow, rolling stop and he looked at the small, grimy apartment complex he had arrived at. To think that anyone could stand living here was beyond him, let alone his best friend. However, with a deep sigh, he managed to force himself out of his car and up the gravel walkway. He looked at the small, faded sticker numbers attached haphazardly to the doors as he walked by. He stopped at his destination and stood there for a few minutes, hesitating before bringing himself to knock.

He and Sarah hadn't spoke much once they arrived back home from their doomed road trip. Their parents had been ecstatic, of course, that they were even alive. Once the funeral was over and Joe had decided to move out of state though, they saw each other less and less, pulled apart by each of their own demons. Neither of them wanted to be reminded of what it was they had left behind, and even though they were the only ones who could really understand what the other was going through, they continued to push each other away.

After the few seconds it took to gather his courage, Joe knocked twice, loudly, on the cheaply made door.

There was a moment of surprised silence, then Joe could hear movement from inside. Slowly, the door creaked open a few inches, a door chain preventing it from opening any more than that. When Sarah saw who her visitor was outside, her breath stopped.

"Hi," Joe said softly, trying to avoid her piercing gaze. It wouldn't have been so hard for him to look into her eyes if it weren't for the complete and utter sadness that resonated from within them.

"What do you want?" Sarah asked, but it barely came out in a whisper.

"Just to see you," Joe replied quickly, adamant not to let this conversation drift into dangerous territory. "I haven't seen you in so long, and I thought maybe you missed me as much as I missed you." He finally allowed himself to glance into her piercing gaze and, just as he knew he would, he was met with a solemn heartbreak that nearly took his breath away.

Slowly, the door closed just a few inches, enough for her to remove the door chain, and then she stepped back, allowing Joe to enter her apartment.

Contrary to what the outside showed, Sarah had done a fairly good job of making her space liveable. In fact, everything seemed to be very neat and orderly, almost hospital like. Except for the slowly peeling wallpaper and the stained ceiling, it really wasn't so bad.

"So," Joe began awkwardly, "living on your own."

"Yeah," Sarah said, shutting the door. "I just didn't really want to be around people... so much."

"I understand," Joe mumbled, not sure if Sarah had heard him. He slowly meandered to a small, ratty looking couch that was placed perfectly perpendicular to a tiny coffee and sat down. "So what are you doing now?"

"I'm taking some online courses at the local community college," Sarah replied softly as she headed into the kitchen slash dining area. "Did you want something to drink?"

"No," Joe said back, "I'm good, thanks."

Sarah returned with a single glass of water and sat next to Joe, sipping it slowly. "What about you?" she asked. "You doing anything interesting?"

"Yeah," Joe replied after a moment. "I'm still going to the same university, just here for Thanksgiving."

"Is that coming up?" Sarah asked, looking up. It was then than Joe noticed the dark circles around her eyes, the way her clothes seemed to drape around her, like they were three sizes too big.

"Um..." Joe looked away, embarrassed, as if he had seen something he shouldn't have. "Yeah, in two days."

"Wow," Sarah replied, laughing with a dry, humorless tone. "I guess I've been pretty out of it. I don't even remember the last time I talked to someone before you."

"What about your parents?" Joe asked her. "You don't talk to them anymore?"

"Not really," Sarah admitted. "We did... at first, you know. But when I moved out, it was really stressful and stuff..."

"I get it," Joe said quickly, not wanting to pry. There was another short awkward silence, and then the high pitched peal of Joe's cell phone ringing made them both jump. He glanced down at the caller ID and saw that it was his mom. Before he answered, he stood and looked down at Sarah. "Look, I probably have to go, but I'm gonna head by Walmart a little bit later, I need to pick up a few things. You should come."

Sarah was already in the process of opening her mouth to reply with the usual no, when something made her change her mind at the last minute. She didn't know why, but Joe's sad attempts at bringing her out of her shell enlightened her, and she felt compelled to go along. "Nnn-yes."

"Sorry?" Joe asked, halfway to the door.

"Yeah," Sarah repeated. "I'll go. You don't mind coming by to pick me up do you? I don't have a car."

"That's fine," Joe answered with a smile as he let himself out the door and back into the too bright world.

* * *

Jessica stood still, letting the steaming hot water cascade over her as it soothed her sore muscles. Her time with Jacob last night had been just as enjoyable as it normally was, but it left her entire body aching, both with pain and for more. She ran her fingers through her hair, wishing Jacob was here to help wash like he normally did. Of course, he had to leave the small cabin he had found for them sometimes. There were some things that just weren't provided by the thick Oregon forests. Food, for one. And toilet paper. So Jacob was out on one of his oh so necessary excursions, due to return in a few hours or so, and Jessica was left to entertain herself while he was gone.

Growing bored of her already too long shower, Jessica reached out and turned the water off, stepping out and reaching for a towel. As she dried herself off, she allowed her mind to wander to a topic she generally avoided -- her friends.

Ever since Joe and Sarah had been forced to leave the Cullen house, Jessica hadn't heard from either of them. She assumed they had both gone back home and gone to college like they had originally planned, but she had no proof that they were even still alive. As for Daisha, well, as far as Jessica knew, she was still with the Cullens, trying to perfect her control over her bloodthirsty urges. She did miss her friends when she allowed herself to, but she knew there was no way she could continue her current lifestyle of 24/7 Jacob and still be able to check up on them routinely.

Suddenly the front door slammed open and Jessica jumped, looking around. She wrapped the towel around herself and ran to the front room where she found a very haggard looking Jacob standing in the doorway emptyhanded.

"Jacob, what --" Jessica began, but Jacob immediately cut her off.

"Grab your clothes," he commanded, slamming the door shut as he dashed past her and into their shared bedroom.

"What's going on?" Jessica asked confused as Jacob began throwing her underwear at her. She hastily pulled them on, followed by her jeans.

"There are bloodsuckers in the woods," Jacob growled. "I was about halfway to town when I smelled them. I hurried back as fast as I could. I wasn't sure if I would make it before they did, but I guess I did."

"Are they friendly?" Jessica yanked a shirt over her head and she followed Jacob back into the front room where he was shoving things into a backpack, preparing to leave.

"I don't know," Jacob shot out, frustrated. "It smelled familiar, but I wasn't sure who it came from..."

Without warning, a sharp knock was at the front door, and Jacob growled. "They're here."

"Jake?" a voice called out, and Jacob immediately loosened up, dropping the bag. "You in there?"

Jessica looked at Jacob with a confused expression. Jacob returned the same look, then walked slowly to the door and pulled it open. Outside, Bella stood beside a very irritable looking Alice.

"Bella!" Jacob yelled happily. "I didn't recognize your scent!"

"It's been so long!" Bella said back with a wide smile. She enveloped him in a warm hug that Jessica was sure lingered just a moment too long.

"Sorry to burst your happy little bubble, dog," Alice said while trying very hard not to breathe through her nose, "but we're here on unfortunate business. We need to talk."

* * *

"I don't know if this was a good idea," Sarah muttered inaudibly as she stepped into the artificial cold inside Walmart and witnessed the vast amount of people jostling around, competing violently for the best bargain, paying no mind to anyone else around them. Her months of self imposed solitary confinement had made her more sensitive to her surroundings, and she thought she could even hear the fluorescent lights above her buzzing angrily. Carts rattled as they were shoved around the too small aisles, and the constant beeping of price scanners only made the pounding in Sarah's head worse.

"Come on," Joe said, pulling Sarah into the masses with him. Joe too found the large masses of people around him distasteful, but unlike Sarah, he could deal with them long enough to get what he needed and leave. He was impressed to not that it looked like Sarah made an honest effort to look like she was okay. She had worn clothes that fit and done her hair in a way that didn't make her look insane. All in all, she was looking much closer to the Sarah that Joe remembered, except for the look in her eyes like a small animal in the middle of the highway.

Sarah just looked straight ahead as they walked into a particular aisle and Joe began selecting things to put into his cart, not allowing herself to see the pandemonium and chaos around her. All the noise was practically too much, she didn't know if she could handle it.

It happened in between the shampoo and the deodorant. One second, Sarah was trying as hard as she could not to give into her rising panic attack, and the next second she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. A particularly tall figure with bronze hair without warning, and the particular shade of his auburn hair stood out to her. Instantly, Sarah found that she could breathe easier. Mentally, she was kicking herself. If she gave in and looked to see who it was, she would only be crushed even worse than before when she found that it wasn't him, but she couldn't stop herself. She could feel her head turning unwillingly to get a better look at the man, and she struggled within her own mind to stop before she really did have a panic attack.

Her eyes scanned the wide area that she had seen the man, unable to see him now. She looked very piercingly for anyone that looked like their hair would match that of her perfect visions, but she saw none. With a sigh, she turned back to Joe. At least she didn't see the real person who had his hair, that would have been worse.

"What do you think of this, Sa--" Joe began, turning towards her to ask her to smell something when he suddenly stopped mid turn, a shocked and awed expression as he looked directly past her.

"Joe?" she asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

Slowly, the deodorant slipped from Joe's hand and clattered against the floor, but Joe took no notice to it.

"Joe?" Sarah repeated. She spun around trying to see what it was that held Joe so captivated, when she realized there was a man standing only a few inches behind her. "Oh, excuse me," Sarah muttered as she looked down, stepping aside for him. She stopped midstride, however, when she glimpsed his alabaster hand. It was pale. Abnormally pale, and it looked so perfect, as if carved from a stone that time had no effect on. Slowly, her eyes raised to his eyes, her perfect, golden eyes that smiled warmly down at her. His amazing, crooked smile. His strong jaw, his muscled neck. Every detail, every minute description about him Sarah immediately took in as she realized what this meant. Then she felt her eyes slip shut and she passed out. The last thing she felt before she slipped into unconsciousness was the chill of Edward's marble arms wrapping around her, catching her and keeping her safe.

* * *

**A/N: **Just a little interesting side note here. The original version of this whole story, Dusk (both parts) was originally handwritten by me in school, at home, wherever. All I'm doing is taking what I already have written and typing it into the computer, editing and improving it at the same time. However, this chapter was the first so far that I didn't even look at the original while I typed it. Instead, I completely rewrote it, because I was really unhappy with the way I did the original. I like this version much better. :)

But yes, that was just a litle side info for you guys. Enjoy, and the next chapter should be out within the next few days!


	2. Convergence

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Any original content, however, is probably mine.

**A/N:** This is actually the second part to a previous story, also on this site, called Dusk. If you haven't read the original, I highly reccomend you do so before you begin reading this part, as much of it will not make sense without information in the first part. Also, just a reminder that the four main characters are real people, people that I know, and some of the content contained in later chapters may anger some people. That being said, I did try to keep the characters as close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote them, though I know I could never get them perfect. If you feel so inspired, please feel free to review with criticism or compliments.

**Chapter 15 -- Convergence**

Jessica and Jacob sat together on the small couch, staring bewildered at Alice and Bella who had routinely taken turns in filling them in on why they had traveled down to Oregon to interrupt their happy solitude.

"So..." Jacob said, trying to grasp what Alice had told him just minutes before. "What exactly is a Volturi?"

"Vampire royalty," Jessica whispered to him. "They keep the vampires in check. Keep up honey."

"And these Volturi are trying to take over the world?" Jacob asked.

Alice scoffed. "In slightly less than eloquent words, yes."

"Why?"

"Most of the Volturi is tired of hiding," Alice sighed. "They're going to rise up and overthrow Aro, the highest of the leaders. Once they do that, they'll be undaunted by any other threats. Their numbers are large enough that there isn't much that could stop them, especially if they played the newborn card, which I'm sure they'll do. Caius hasn't really planned that far in his whole revolution though, so it's hard for me to see what will happen after he gathers up his numbers..."

Both Jasper and Jessica now stared at Alice with incredulous looks, and she rolled her eyes. "The bad vampires are going to try and kill most of the humans, saving enough to live off of and that's about it."

"I understand that," Jasper shot back at the ill tempered pixie, "but I don't get why you made the trip down here to tell us. I can't do much for you, one werewolf against a bunch of leeches? Not likely."

"We didn't come here for you," Bella interjected. "We came here for her." The way Bella rolled the word 'her' around in her mouth before throwing it out reminded Jessica of how much Bella disapproved of who Jacob had ended up with. Well, as far as Jessica was concerned, it was Bella's loss. She'd had her chance.

"Jessica?" Jacob asked, confused. "Why? What do you need her for?"

"There's more to the Volturi's plan than just overthrowing Aro," Alice continued. "They have to have something else in order to proceed with their takeover. There's more to Aro's guard than Caius and his revolutionaries can handle. He has friends that Caius couldn't possibly get through. So in order to be able to get through Aro and work on his human Massacre, Caius needs Daisha."

"Daisha!?" Jessica asked with shock. Daisha's name was the last that she had expected to hear. "Why?"

"You know how when someone is turned into a vampire, they take their most potent human qualities and make them stronger, sometimes even paranormally strong?"

"Like you," Jacob followed along, "or Edward."

"Exactly," Alice said with a smirk. "Well, let's just say that Daisha's new ability is one that the Volturi is very interested in procuring for themselves."

"What can she do?" Jessica asked curiously. Alice glanced sideways at her, then laughed.

"I'm sure you'll see for yourself soon enough."

"Okay," Jacob said slowly, "once again -- Why are you telling us all this?"

"Carlisle wants Jessica, Sarah, and Joe to know," Alice said. "We think that they'll try to use you three as bait to get Daisha to their side."

"Why do they have to get Daisha?" Jessica asked suddenly. "If they can't get her, won't they just try without her?"

"Yes," Alice replied, "but thanks to my visions, we know that they'll try to get Daisha with everything they've got. Trust me, having Daisha on their side would make conquering Aro all too easy."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Jessica asked quietly. "Hide? We're already hidden."

"Actually," Bella chimed in, "Carlisle wants the three of you to come to Forks again where they can keep an eye out for you."

"Isn't he the one who made us all leave in the first place?" Jessica was standing now, obviously angry at the circumstances.

"Well," Alice attempted to control the situation, "what with recent events, he realized that he needed to realize his priorities, and keeping Daisha away from the Volturi is at the top of the list."

"You have to realize that where Jessica goes, I go," Jacob said, standing as well.

"A fact we're all too aware of," Alice said slowly. It was clear that whatever patience she had with coming down and convincing a werewolf and his lover to move in with her was wearing thin.

"What about Sarah and Joe?" Jessica asked after a small moment of tension. "Are they coming back too?"

"Yes," Alice said. "Or at least we hope they'll come. This would be more difficult if we had to keep watch on people half way across the country."

"Who's getting them?" Jessica asked innocently.

"Edward," Bella said softly, and Jessica could see the tears begin to spill over from just the thought of it.

"I'm sorry," Jessica said immediately, looking down, silently cursing herself for being so stupid.

"Alright," Jacob said softly after a brief pause. "We'll go, but only until this whole situation is finished."

"Wonderful," Alice said in a tone that was dripping with sarcasm. "We should leave soon then. Carlisle is expecting us back not too long from now to fill us in on the plan."

"This should be fun," Jacob muttered into Jessica's ear as they carefully began packing their bags, taking time to get what they had missed in their hasty escape attempt earlier. Slowly, Jessica began to wonder what condition her three best friends would be in when they all saw each other again, and what would happen once they were all living under the same roof that, just a few months prior, they had all been kicked out of permanently.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please take your seats, the front door is now closed and we are preparing for takeoff." The ridiculously made up flight attendant began strolling up and down the tight aisles, maneuvering professionally around obstacles and making sure everything was as it should be.

Sarah ignored the obscenely cheery woman and laid her head back against the headrest, never releasing her death grip on her arm rest. Sarah had never had the chance to travel by airplane before, and she was insanely terrified, considering the trials she had endured mere months before this.

Suddenly, as if being plunged into a perfect, wintery dream, Sarah felt ice cold fingers interlock with hers, removing her hand from the arm rest. She looked down to see Edward's hand in hers, his marble skin making her look surprisingly tan in comparison. She glanced up into his face and allowed herself to finally believe that he was real, and he was back.

The last day or so had been little more than a very unfocused blur for Sarah. She could hardly remember much after going to Walmart with Joe and then passing out, only that when she woke up in her apartment, Joe was nowhere to be seen and she was in the presence of an angel. At first, Sarah had vaguely wondered if she was dead, but then quickly disregarded that thought when she realized that, had she been dead, she certainly wouldn't have been back in her trashy apartment. It didn't take Sarah long to realize that Edward had really returned for her and at first, her relief and joy couldn't be greater. In a matter of minutes, however, Edward had brought her back down to earth with the news of Caius' planned revolt of the Volturi using Daisha.

"Alice has told us that they'll do anything to get Daisha on their side," Edward had revealed to her as he gently pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Including using you or Joe as bait. At first, Carlisle protested your involvement in all of this, but I convinced him it was for the best for you and Joe to be brought back to Forks, at least until we can make sure Caius is stopped."

Sarah sat quietly, taking it all in. She had one very important question, but she didn't know if she could ask it out loud. Instead, she looked deeply into his eyes, allowing her emotions to show for the first time since arriving back home.

"Ah," Edward exhaled as he heard in her mind what she refused to say to his face. "Bella."

Sarah lowered her gaze, ashamed that of all the things she should be worried about, this was the first that came to her mind.

"Bella and I are going through a rough spot," Edward said, his honey voice dripping slowly. "She claims that she still loves me, but she doesn't think she could ever be the same with me again. Not after..."

"I get it," Sarah cut in softly.

"Don't worry about it," Edward assured her, brushing her chin with a freezing finger. "You're coming to Forks to be safe, and Bella knows it. I swear to you, no harm will come to you once you are in my arms."

In your arms, Sarah mused to herself. A sharp jolt of turbulence brought her crashing from her memories and into the present where she was sitting in an uncomfortable airplane seat next to the perfect visage that was the love of her life. She glanced out the window and saw that they were already in the air and flying above the clouds. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she had completely missed the takeoff.

"Joe seems to be transitioning quite well," Edward commented, "considering the circumstances."

Sarah twisted around in her seat to find her best friend that he hardly knew anymore sleeping three rows behind them. Sarah couldn't help but smile. It seemed like she couldn't help but smile a lot ever since Edward had come back for her.

It was almost too good to be true. After three (or was it four?) months of depression and confusion, she had finally emerged from it all alive and well. Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself to lean her head on Edward's muscular shoulder and doze slowly into a restless and unexpecting sleep.

* * *

Jessica and Jacob approached the magnificent front porch of the Cullen's house with a mixture of anticipation and unsettledness. Jacob remembered clearly the day that he and Jessica had spent working on rebuilding the entire front end of the Cullen's house after the insane werewolves bent on killing him had attacked the vampires. He sighed. His memories at this house were never good.

Jessica also had a sense of high anxiety, but for a different reason than her lover. When she had begun the journey to the Cullen's home, she had been excited at the prospect of seeing Daisha. Alice, however, quickly knocked that notion away. She had told them that, even though Daisha had vastly improved in her self control, she was nowhere near to perfect. The temptation of werewolf or human alike could send her over the edge, so it was wise for both of them to keep their distance.

When they walked silently into the living room after Alice and Bella, Jessica's eyes immediately raked across the room, taking in her hostile surroundings. Carlisle and Esme stood in the center of the room. Esme wore her usual warm smile, and her eyes silently thanked them for coming. Even Carlisle seemed relieved that they came, despite his personal feelings toward the situation. Emmett and Jasper sat relaxed on the sofa, in a hushed conversation with each other. From the smile on their faces, it couldn't be anything serious. Finally, in the shadow of the stairway, stood Daisha. Jessica was once again shocked at the sheer beauty of her friend, the way her once softly curving face was now sharp and angular in a way that supermodels wish they could be born with. Her still blood red eyes seemed to have lost some of their hue, turning darker as the human blood inside of her slowly faded away day after day. She managed a smile at Jessica and Jessica effortlessly returned it.

They all stood like this, awkward and silent, for several minutes before Carlisle finally spoke. "Thank you so much for coming here. We know how difficult it must be for you."

"It's alright," Jacob responded, tightening his hold around Jessica's waist. "We understand how necessary it is. Do we have any more information on the Volturi's plans?"

"They'll attack at night," Alice said as she circled around the newcomers and headed over to Carlisle. "The only problem with my visions when dealing with the Volturi is that they know that we know what they're doing every time they make a new decision. They could change their mind at a seconds notice just to throw us off course, so we can't put too much faith in what I see. They know they can't surprise us, so we should expect them to pull out all the stops and do everything in their power to catch us off guard."

"This whole fortune telling business," Jacob said sarcastically, "it's kinda tricky, huh?"

"You have no idea," Alice replied, rubbing her temples.

* * *

The sun above, mostly hidden behind thick clouds, was setting slowly, and Joe, Sarah, and Edward stepped onto the front porch.

"You remember what I said about Daisha," Edward asked.

"Yes," Sarah replied. "Keep our distance."

"Good," Edward said with a slight smile. "Well, let's not keep them waiting. Alice has no doubt told them we're here by now." Without further ado, Edward stepped up and opened the front door, holding it open for Sarah and Joe to step through.

The first thing Joe noticed as he entered the beautiful house was that it was almost completely empty. Carlisle stood alone, leaning against the large grand piano with both hands in his pockets.

"Welcome," the blonde vampire said in an unusually courteous voice that Joe and Sarah weren't used to hearing. "Thank you for coming. It's a huge help to all of us."

"You're welcome," Joe replied after it was clear that Sarah wasn't going to speak up. "We're glad we could help."

"We hope you understand, but for your own security, we would like you to stay in your room from sundown to sunup, no exceptions. It's extremely important, not just for your own safety, but for the convenience for us as well. We know from Alice that the Volturi will approach us sometime at night, but we're not sure when. If they determine that Daisha is too difficult of a target for them to obtain, they will no doubt choose one of you two or Jessica as their next target. We will need to know where you are after dark, so your room is an easy, safe place."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Joe said with a sigh. "Where is Jessica and Jacob anyway?"

"Jessica is already in the room," Carlisle answered patiently. "Jacob is helping us keep guard at night, so he's outside somewhere. We would appreciate it if the two of you would go on up to your room, it's the same one as last time. Edward, if you would?"

Edward nodded, then raised his hand to rub Sarah's shoulder comfortingly. With a smile towards the both of them, he and Carlisle turned and headed back out the front door, shutting it behind them. They heard the click of the lock and they knew they were probably alone now.

"Shall we?" Joe asked, trying to encourage Sarah to smile. Meekly, she obliged, then headed up the stairs in front of Joe. As they walked down the hallway, Joe recognized the door that hid Jasper's room from view, and he wondered if the vampire his heart called for was just a few feet from where he stood, or if he was outside, protecting him and his friends.

Eventually, they made it to the room that both of them remembered as the one they slept in last time they were in Forks, and they entered silently without knocking.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry about the long wait for this one, life has been quite hectic lately. I promise the action is going to kick in soon, as will the romance. The next chapter will be up by Friday at the latest. Enjoy, hopefully! If you have comments, questions, or concerns, feel free to leave me some feedback!


	3. Catching Up

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Any original content, however, is probably mine.

**A/N:** This is actually the second part to a previous story, also on this site, called Dusk. If you haven't read the original, I highly reccomend you do so before you begin reading this part, as much of it will not make sense without information in the first part. Also, just a reminder that the four main characters are real people, people that I know, and some of the content contained in later chapters may anger some people. That being said, I did try to keep the characters as close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote them, though I know I could never get them perfect. If you feel so inspired, please feel free to review with criticism or compliments.

**Chapter 16 - Catching Up**

Joe, Jessica, and Sarah sat uncomfortably on the hardwood floor, not looking at each other or saying anything. It had been months since they had all been together like this, and they had no idea what to say in this situation. After several long moments of awkward silence, Jessica finally forced herself to make the first move.

"So..." she hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. "How have you guys been?"

Sarah looked at Jessica with a dumbfounded expression. "Are you kidding me?"

"It's been hard," Joe shot out, trying to cool down the rising fire in the room. "I mean, yours and Daisha's parents both think your dead."

"Why?" Jessica asked stupidly. Sarah exhaled loudly, and Joe once again had to intercede.

"What else were we supposed to tell them?" he asked. "We had come back from a road trip without you, I mean, we were kind of lost for a story."

"Oh well," Jessica replied boredly. "It's not like my parents would actually care."

"Yes they did," Sarah snapped before Joe could respond. "They cared. Your mom refused to believe us for the longest time. You should have seen her at the funeral. She was completely broken, I don't remember the last time I saw her when she wasn't crying."

"Well," Jessica said with a slight air of superiority, "I don't know what you guys expect me to do about it. It's not like I could just leave Jacob. I love him! I had to make sacrifices."

"It's just too bad that we were the ones who had to deal with the consequences of your sacrifices," Joe said softly. "We left behind people we love too you know."

"Are you guys going to give Daisha this warm welcome too?" Jessica asked sarcastically.

"Daisha didn't have a choice," Sarah said, standing. "You did. You could've brought Jacob with you, but you had to be selfish, dumping all your responsibilities on us. As if we didn't have it hard enough already, leaving behind the ones we love."

Jessica stood too, and Joe put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"You two couldn't imagine what it's like!" Jessica shouted with poison in her voice. In the dark room, it was impossible for anyone else to see the tears streaming heavily down her face. "Neither of you have ever loved anyone as strongly as I love Jacob! You couldn't possibly --"

But what they couldn't possibly, they never found out, as Sarah pulled back and slapped Jessica sharply across the cheek as hard as she could. Jessica reeled back from the blow and actually, had to move backward so she wouldn't fall over.

Jessica and Sarah looked at each other with shock and hatred mirrored in each other's eyes. Sarah was breathing heavily, trying to control her rage.

"Don't... You... Ever," Sarah growled, "think leaving Edward behind wasn't the mos difficult thing I've ever had to do in my entire life. Joe and I both left someone behind that we are madly in love with, and it hurt. Unbelievably bad. But we still went on living our lives, difficult as it may have been. Not only that, but we also picked up the pieces that you and Daisha left us. So don't for one minute act as if you didn't have a choice Jessica. Except for Daisha, we all had a choice. We all made our decisions."

Jessica stood, silent and shocked, and stared ludicrously at what she vaguely recognized as her two best friends. When she finally gained the ability to speak again, it was with a sore jaw. "I don't have to put up with this," she spat. "I came here because I thought I could help. They needed me here to stop the Volturi. If this is what it takes... Count me out." She turned to the door and wrenched it open, turning her head slightly one last time. "By the way, fuck you."

And she slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Daisha sat apathetically on the couch next to Emmett and allowed her fingers to be intertwined with hers. Her bored mind wandered while she waited for some unknown sign to tell them what to do next. Seeing her old friends had been much easier than she thought it would be, for many reasons. Their scents, once irresistible and delectable, were now much easier for her to ignore. Perhaps the distance kept between them made it easier though. Jacob had been a bit more difficult to abstain from, but she managed it with willpower and finesse.

More difficult to resist, however, were her emotions. She missed her friends, and she wanted to go up and see them. For their safety, however, that was impossible, and everyone knew it. Of course, she could just use her ability to get to see them... but even Daisha knew that was a bad idea.

Already Daisha was growing bored being cooped up in the house all night. She wished the Volturi would just attack already so that she and Emmett could take them out here and now. A good fight was exactly what she needed to improve her spirits.

Shouts from upstairs brought her back to earth, and she looked at Emmett curiously.

"They're fighting," Jasper said softly. "I haven't felt anger like this in a long time."

"Maybe you should..." Daisha began, but Esme cut her off.

"They need to work this out for themselves. They haven't seen each other in months, if they don't solve their problems now, they may never do it."

From upstairs, they suddenly heard a slam, and then pounding footsteps walking down the hall. Jessica appeared at the top of the stairs and in a flash, Jacob was by her side. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, nuzzling her neck with his nose.

"I can't stay here," she said, perhaps a bit too loudly. She began descending the stairs and Jacob struggled to keep a hold on her. "I can't stay with them."

"You don't have a choice," Carlisle's voice boomed as he stepped in front of the stairs.

"What are you saying?" Jacob replied in a very controlled voice. His form began to shake.

"I must ask you to remain here, at least until morning," Carlisle pressed. "If you just wait until morning, you can leave without any trouble, but if you were to leave now, you would not only be recklessly endangering your lives, but everyone's lives in this house as well. Please, I'm only asking for a few more hours."

"I... don't know," Jacob finally said. "I don't like the idea of being stuck in this house any more than Jessica does, but if it will help stop them from getting Daisha," Jacob looked over at the newborn for a brief second, then back to Carlisle. "We'll stay on one condition."

"Yes?" Carlisle asked, raising one eyebrow.

"She stays with me," Jacob answered, pulling Jessica into his side.

* * *

Jane looked down on the large, white Victorian mansion and smiled. She was standing atop a large tree, watching the house for any unusual signs of activity. After several minutes of no one entering or leaving, she allowed herself to drop the hundred or so feet from the top and landed silently next to an expecting Caius.

"You were right," she said without looking at him. "Alice has seen that we'll attack at night. They're going to be very careful after dark."

"Good," Caius whispered with a smile forming on his thin lips.

"What are you planning, Caius?" Jane asked, finally taking her eyes from the Cullen's home and looking at the large, white vampire.

"Nothing," Caius replied simply. "That's the point. As long as I stay focused on attacking them tomorrow night, they won't know my plans have changed until we actually put it into action."

"So..." Jane struggled to wrap her mind around Caius' words.

"All you need to know is that we attack tomorrow night," Caius assured her. "If the plan changes, you'll know."

Jane remained silent.

"Have you spoken to Alec yet?" Caius asked after a short pause.

"Yes," Jane said softly. "He's on our side. He has often spoken out against Aro's foolish decisions. You know that."

"Good," Caius sighed. "Marcus too wishes to join our ranks. He will be a valuable asset to us."

"Aro really doesn't suspect a thing?" Jane asked, incredulous.

"As long as he doesn't touch us, how will he know?" Caius grinned. "Aro is too trusting, but he is also a loyal companion. I wish there was a way to do this without defying him."

"With Daisha," Jane giggled, "it won't be!"

"Yes," Caius nodded absently. "Daisha is the key that is required to fully unlock my plan." Caius' eyes glowed maliciously in the darkness.

"They'll protect her," Jane said. "They know we need her."

"That would be why I'm here," a third voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and both Jane and Caius turned to welcome the newcomer.

"Marcus!" Jane cried. "This is too perfect!"

Marcus' face was unreadable beneath his black cowl, but he gave off an air of mysteriousness that made Jane shiver slightly.

"You think this will work?" Jane asked, already in on the plan that Marcus now presented. "How will Marcus get close enough to feel their relationships without Edward reading his mind?"

"Marcus' abilities take only a few seconds for him to read the ties inside," Caius explained. "Edward won't even have time to realize that someone else's mind has entered his range before Marcus will be back here."

"It still seems a bit risky," Jane said, squinting her eyes. "Surely there's a safer way?"

"It's completely harmless," Caius assured her, brushing away her complaints. "Marcus," he asked, turning towards his robed companion, "are you ready?"

* * *

Edward sat at the piano, slowly drumming his fingers lightly across the keys, creating a slow, tinkling tune. Daisha and Esme were sitting together on the sofa, their fingers intertwined, her head resting on his shoulder. Esme sat in a recliner, her eyes closed. Carlisle and Jasper were standing at the large window, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Jacob was sitting cross legged in the corner with a sleeping Jessica curled up in his lap. He brushed a strand of hair from her face and she breathed in lightly, a light smile playing across her lips as she felt his warm fingers across her skin. Alice stood in a corner, a perplexed expression on her face. Edward suddenly looked up at her and the music stopped.

"Alice," he said urgently.

"It's nothing, Edward," she insisted.

"I don't understand," he pressed, standing.

"There's nothing to understand," she refused. She immediately began counting backwards from six hundred in Congolese in her head, blocking Edward from her thoughts.

By now, everyone's eyes in the room were glued to Edward and Alice, except for Jessica's, who slept on.

"What did you see?" Edward asked, glaring at her. "I saw enough of it myself to know that it's important."

"It's nothing!" she threw up her hands in exasperation.

"It was definitely something," Edward growled.

"Alice, tell us," Jasper said suddenly, moving away from the window. "We need to know."

"But..." Alice's voice faded away. "I don't really understand it all. Most of it didn't really make sense."

"Well," urged Edward, "maybe we can help sort it out."

"All right!" Alice shouted finally. "I only saw quick flashes of it though, so don't expect too many details. And there were so many different things at once, it's never happened like this before. Anyways...

"The first thing I saw was definitely you, Carlisle. Only you were shaking hands with Aro. Then it just changed, and it was Emmett, but he looked really, really beat up. Badly. Maybe even close to... well, you know. Then I saw Joe, and he was putting... a gun to his head. Then it was Edward, holding a girl's dead body. I couldn't see her face though. I know another girl was standing in the background though. She was too far away for me to recognize too though. Then I saw Jessica, and I think she was running down a road. I didn't recognize the road, but I know it was cobblestone, and there was... a wolf... lying about 50 feet in front of her. It wasn't moving. And then, I saw Aro's head, lying a few feet away from his body, and Caius was... standing above him. Smiling."

After Alice had finished, the room was completely silent. No one could bring themselves to speak for several minutes.

Finally, Alice felt the need to defend herself. "I don't know what any of it means, and I don't know how it all happens, or if it will even really happen at all. I'm just telling you what I saw. Against my will," as she added the last part, she threw a dirty look at Edward.

"How do we stop them from happening?" Jacob asked seriously.

"Well," Alice said slowly, "all we know is that someone has the means to make all these things happen, so to stop them, we need to figure out who's going to set these events into motion."

"I think that's obvious," Carlisle said softly. "Caius and his followers."

"Well some of it's not so bad," Jasper said. "Like you shaking hands with Aro, that has to be you too working together, right?"

"What about me getting beat up?" Emmett interjected. "What's that about?"

"Who could hurt you that bad?" Daisha asked, dumbfounded.

"No clue," Emmett said, deep in thought.

"There's n o way Joe would kill himself, either," Daisha said out loud. "Trust me."

"Who was I holding?" Edward asked softly. "Who was behind us? What does it mean?"

"I can think of two girls who could be in your vision," Alice said, and Edward lowered his gaze.

"Well I think Jessica's future is kind of obvious," Jacob mused out loud. "But where we're going to find a cobblestone street is beyond me."

"The last one is the one that we know we can't let happen," Carlisle said suddenly. "We can't let Caius win."

"We know," Esme said, resting her hand on Carlisle's shoulder. "We know."

And one by one, each of them fell into silent thought, thinking of their own dark futures.

* * *

"Well?" Caius asked as a large robed figure once more strode into the shade of the trees. "What did you learn?"

Marcus removed his hood and his face held the same, bored expression as always. "We will win," he said simply. "We have more than enough information to force them to turn against each other. When we're done, we won't have to get Daisha. She'll come to us."

Caius smiled his wicked smile, and even Jane had to admit that she was impressed. She had never heard Marcus give such a long speech before. Silently, she felt that she had picked the winning side. After all, with so many in their ranks, how could they lose?

Together, the three of them turned and headed back into the forest, away from the Cullen's and towards victory.


	4. Distractions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Any original content, however, is probably mine.

**A/N:** This is actually the second part to a previous story, also on this site, called Dusk. If you haven't read the original, I highly reccomend you do so before you begin reading this part, as much of it will not make sense without information in the first part. Also, just a reminder that the four main characters are real people, people that I know, and some of the content contained in later chapters may anger some people. That being said, I did try to keep the characters as close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote them, though I know I could never get them perfect. If you feel so inspired, please feel free to review with criticism or compliments.

**Chapter 17 -- Distractions**

Joe awoke suddenly, snapping out of sleep as if someone had called his name. He peered bleary eyed around the room and saw that it was completely empty. He sighed and laid back down, wondering what had caused him to wake up so suddenly. As he lay there, his mind wandered back to last night. After Jessica had stormed out, he and Sarah had sat up with each other, neither one talking, yet neither one able to get to sleep for several hours. Finally, in the early hours of the morning, they had each drifted into an uncomfortable, restless daze.

When Joe eventually determined that trying to get back to sleep would be impossible, he groggily wrestled himself up off the floor and changed as quickly as possible. With disdain, he let himself out of the small spare bedroom and traipsed down the stairs.

In the open living room, Daisha and Jasper were standing over the piano, speaking in hushed voices. When they heard Joe step down from the stairs, however, they both looked up immediately and smiled.

"Good morning," Jasper said with a look in his eye that Joe thought he recognized.

"Or good afternoon," Daisha offered with a grin. "Sleep well?"

"Miserably, actually," Joe replied while attempting to suppress a yawn. "But I'll live."

"I remember sleep," Daisha said wistfully, her eyes shifting slowly.

"Miss it?" Joe asked, moving to stand by the two vampires.

"Not as much as I thought I would," she replied slowly. "I never get tired, so I don't really think about sleep much."

"Oh," Joe answered thoughtfully.

"Well," Daisha said, sauntering towards the door, "I was just about to leave... I'll leave you two alone."

After she had closed the door, Joe looked up at Jasper awkwardly and offered a strange smile.

Jasper rolled his eyes grinningly and Joe felt a slow tingling begin to spread up his body. With the prickles, his tension and anxiety melted away, leaving him quite comfortable.

"Thanks," he whispered to the blonde vampire.

"Anytime," Jasper grinned widely.

"So," Joe began, sighing. "Where is everyone else?"

"Daisha just left to go with Alice and Emmett to search the perimeter," Jasper explained. "We think Caius and Jane may have been around last night. At least, some strange vampires were, and they weren't from anywhere around here."

"Oh!" Joe gasped. "Are they gone?"

"Long gone," Jasper confirmed. "If it was them, they were being very careful, and they didn't stay long."

"Wow..." Jow sighed.

"Sarah and Edward are off on their own," Jasper continued. "As are Jessica and Jacob. Carlisle is at the hospital, and Esme is in town running errands."

"Errands?" Joe asked curiously.

"We have an appearance to upkeep," Jasper explained with a sly smile. "We have to be seen in town at some point."

"Oh, right," Joe said. "Duh."

Jasper suddenly leaned in close to Joe and Joe instinctively took a small step back. Jasper's eyes locked onto his and Joe felt as if he was being searched for something. He could practically feel Jasper's mind prying into his emotions, digging through his feelings. Despite all of that, he remained completely calm the entire time.

"Hmmmmm..." Jasper muttered, his expression thoughtful.

"Um..." Joe asked, smiling. "What are you doing?"

"I don't... sense any depression..."

"I'm not depressed anymore!" Joe laughed, ducking his head.

"Anymore?" Jasper asked suddenly.

"Well, I was," Joe revealed, losing any embarrassment he might have had normally. "At first, when Sarah and I had to leave. It was really bad. It was like I was lost and I didn't know where I could go, or who I could go to. I was drowning in it, but then... I left."

"Left where?" Jasper asked, now completely serious.

"Anywhere that could remind me of you," Joe said, now doing everything in his power to avoid Jasper's piercing stare. The vampire's power seemed to be fading now, and Joe's emotions were beginning to betray him. "I... I left everything behind. My family, my friends, I moved to a different state, I completely started over. I even asked to be called by my middle name. I just... I couldn't... It was too hard."

Finally, Joe braved the worst and looked up into Jasper's topaz eyes. They were filled with sadness and regret, the likes of which Joe had only seen mirrored in his own eyes as he drove down the highway away from Forks just months before.

"I'm so... sorry..." Jasper mumbled. "I had no idea it would be so... hard for you."

"Wasn't it for you?" Joe asked, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer.

"It was harder for me than I think even you know," Jasper replied, slowly bringing his hand up to brush along Joe's jaw line. "If it weren't for Carlisle, I would have gone after you, but after all that Carlisle has done for me... and Alice..."

"Alice..." Joe sighed.

"She and I have reached a sort of understanding," Jasper said softly. "She is still one of the most important people in my life, nothing could change that. Now, however, it's a different closeness, like brother and sister."

Joe was silent for a little, then he and Jasper headed over to the sofa together. They sat down and Joe rested his head comfortably on Jasper's rock hard shoulder.

"I think I would go after you now, though," Jasper revealed.

"Really?" Joe asked, shocked.

"Knowing what I put you through before," Jasper continued, "I could never do that again. Never."

Joe smiled to himself, and he knew that it came from within himself, and not from Jasper's uncanny ability. Before he let himself get too carried away, however, he grabbed for a change of topic. "So, why were you looking for depression in me, anyway?"

"Oh," Jasper stiffened suddenly, and Joe raised his head. "No reason."

Joe felt the tingling of comfort washing over him again, and for a split second he was tempted to let it go, but he managed to fight it and his curiosity got the better of him. "No, tell me!"

Jasper sighed, clearly worried that whatever he knew would upset Joe more. "I don't think I should," Jasper said slowly.

"Why not?" Joe asked. "If you don't tell me, I'll just assume the worst."

"You wouldn't be mistaken..." Jasper said, almost to low for Joe to hear. "I could just never leave your side, and make sure that it didn't bother you again."

"That's cheating," Joe accused with a scowl. "Not that I would have any problem with the whole never leaving my side part."

"Fine," Jasper said in exasperation. "It's something that Alice saw... about you."

"What was it?" Joe asked, worry creeping into his voice.

"You were..." Jasper began, then he stopped. "Well, it looked like you were... putting a gun... to your head."

Joe stopped suddenly, his mind flooded with emotion. Worry, fear, confusion, shock. Then a sudden wave of peace came over him, and he looked gratefully at the vampire whose features were pulled into a worried frown. "I knew I shouldn't have told you," he said softly.

"No," Joe said, shaking his head. "I'm glad you did, but I don't see how that could happen. I would never do that... Even when I left Forks, that thought never entered my head. I was lost, depressed, but I always kept thinking that I had to get through the next day. I never once gave thought to giving up."

Jasper's face slowly relaxed into a relieved smile. "I'm sure it was a mistake. Nothing to worry about."

Joe forced a smile too, but Jasper saw through his facade. "Actually," he stated, "Alice saw several other things last night that really didn't make much sense. I think she's been overstressed lately. Maybe it's affecting her vision."

"Maybe," Joe said, unconvinced. "I still just don't see why I would --"

"You won't," Jasper interrupted, reaching out and pulling Joe into a tight embrace. Joe allowed himself to be drug in, then he wrapped his arms around the freezing man, clasping onto him as if his life depended on it. "I won't let you," Jasper whispered.

* * *

Sarah cast a worried glance at Edward's face. "What's wrong?"

Edward sat up, looking at Sarah with a peculiar expression. "Wrong?"

The two of them had been relaxing in Edward's favorite clearing for hours now. The beautiful trees above swayed in the gentle Autumn breeze, casting shadows and lights in a natural show. The perfectly circular meadow was like a dream come true every time Sarah was brought into it.

"Come on Edward," Sarah pushed. "Just because I can't read minds doesn't mean I'm stupid. Tell me, I might be able to help."

He sighed, then ran his fingers through his perfectly messed up bronze hair, his pale skin contrasting with the copper. The sky above was cloudy, so his skin didn't glisten when the bottom of his shirt rose up slightly, exposing an inch or two of white stone above his expensive looking belt buckle. "I don't see how you could help me this time, Sarah."

"It couldn't hurt," Sarah sighed. "Could it?"

Edward shot her a bemused look. "You never give up, do you?"

Sarah beamed.

"That's one of my favorite things about you," he said with a half smile, then sighed. "Alice had some very interesting visions last night."

"Like what?" Sarah asked, laying down on the slightly damp grass.

"In one of them," Edward continued, looking off into the unknowable distance, his mind preoccupied, "I was holding a dead body."

"Whose?" Sarah asked, her heart beat increasingly steadily.

"We don't know," Edward said in a whisper. "It could be any girl on the face of the earth."

"It's a girl?" Sarah asked, her skin beginning to pale with anxiety.

"It's not you," Edward said quickly, by her side in an instant, pulling her into him. They laid like that for several minutes, with Sarah feeling Edward's cool chest beneath his shirt pressing into her back. "It can't be you," Edward kept repeating. Which one of them he was trying to convince, Sarah had no clue.

"How do you know?" Sarah asked, her breathing shallow.

"Because I would never let that happen," Edward explained.

Once again, the two of them laid in silence. For a moment, Edward debated on whether or not to tell Sarah about the other girl who stood in the background, watching silently as he mourned the death of the unnamed girl, but he decided against it. Best not to worry her.

Slowly, as if trying not to scare her, Edward lifted her and placed her on top of him, and she opened her eyes to look into his. The liquid gold that met her melted her heart, and she could feel herself becoming more and more a part of him, and vice versa. It was a stupid decision, what with Carlisle sure to kick them out again as soon as this was all solved, but she couldn't resist, and her heart ached for more. With as much restraint as she could manage, she allowed her lips to trail up Edward's neck, feeling the frigid skin beneath her. She moved to his jaw where she kissed delicately, not wanting to forget even a moment. Then, she finally made her way to his lips where she pressed more firmly, and she could feel him kiss her back, their lips dancing together, their tongues flirting childishly, meeting for only a second, then dashing back until the next time. She felt Edward pull back for a split second, and she regretfully eased back as well.

"I love you," he whispered, his eyes closed in the purest of bliss.

Sarah paused, not wanting to let herself be so badly again, but not wanting to lose her one and only chance to get what she wanted with every fiber of her being. "I... I love you too."

They kissed again, more passionately, and Sarah embraced the cold that came with it.

* * *

Jessica sat on the large rock and bit her lower lip. "Jacob... are you sure?"

"Yes," he replied, holding onto her hand for comfort. "You run down a cobblestone street and fine me, lying in the road ahead."

Jessica began to get a wave of dizziness, and she closed her eyes, allowing it to pass. When it finally did, it left behind a sick, nauseous feeling. She couldn't lose Jacob. She couldn't. If something ever happened to Jacob, she would rather give her own life then go on without him, no questions asked.

"Where are the nearest cobblestone streets?" Jessica asked suddenly. "As long as we stay away from them, we should be safe, right?"

"I don't know!" Jacob growled in exasperation. "Jessica, we've been going over this for hours. You've been asking the same questions without giving me time to think. We've gone over every possibility, exhausted every scenario. We just have to face that we don't know shit!"

Jessica sat stunned, unable to speak. Never before had Jacob spoken to her like that, like... an animal. Her first reaction was sorrow and confusion, not sure why he was this angry, but that was quickly replaced by an annoyance of her own. Couldn't he see that she cared about him so much that the thought of losing him was unbearable to her? She refused to accept that there was nothing she could do about it. For that reason and for that reason only was she so persistent, so demanding for answers.

"Look, Jacob," Jessica snapped without warning. "I understand that you're worried, and upset, and mad, but that's no reason to take it out on me." She stood up, almost knocking him over in her hurry. She didn't want to use those harsh tones, but there was something within her that was sparked and she couldn't control it. She was pissed. "I'm going back to the house to think. Feel free to join me when you've cooled down enough to understand that I love you." With that, she stalked off toward the Cullen's elegant white home.

It was Jacob's turn to be shocked now, and he stood up as well. "Jessica, wait!" he called after her. "Jessica! I'm sorry!"

But she kept walking, ignoring her love's pleas. She couldn't be around him right now. She didn't like being yelled at, especially for doing what she thought was right.

Jacob stood still for several minutes, watching as Jessica strode up to the front porch that they had rebuilt together and go inside. He made no move to follow her. He had lost control of his growing temper, and he would pay the consequences. Sullenly, he gazed up at the grey sky and sighed heavily. He pushed his mind to its limits, trying to find some way to prevent his acclaimed future from coming true.

Silently, he swore to himself that he wouldn't stop until he guaranteed that he would never let him nor Jessica come across the dreaded cobblestone street. He would do whatever it took, anything to make it up to Jessica.

Slowly, he began walking into the forest, his mind dead set on preventing the inevitable. He would make sure it didn't happen. For her.

* * *

Emmett and Daisha had their fingers intertwined as they strolled through the deepest parts of the surrounding forest, both of their senses on the alert for any sign of the Volturi. Except for the small whiff that Alice had sensed earlier that morning, there had been no sign of any of them. They hadn't spoken a word since they had split up from Alice earlier, each of them just enjoying the others company. Finally, however, Emmett had to reveal what was on his mind.

"I've been thinking," he said slowly, his deep voice out of place in the serene woods.

"Congratulations," Daisha said through a grin. Emmett laughed softly and elbowed her in the ribs.

"In Alice's vision," Emmett continued, "someone roughs me up pretty bad, huh?"

"According to Alice," Daisha said thoughtfully.

"But you and I both know that no human or regular vampire around that's stronger than me," Emmett continued, slowly getting to his point.

Daisha's dark red eyes focused on Emmett's gold. "Right, but it's not all about strength."

"I was just thinking, though," Emmett said, his voice getting softer. "What if it's a newborn vampire? They're stronger than me, for the most part."

"You can handle a newborn, Emmett," Daisha said with a sigh. "You've done it before. You took down lots of newborns."

He laughed. "Well, yeah..."

Daisha smiled with him. "If you ask me, this is all messed up. Alice has been wrong before, and none of these visions seem very likely. It's all just... ugh... it's stupid!" Daisha yelled out the last word, punching a nearby tree. The entire trunk exploded in a clash of bits of bark and wood, and the rest of the tree went tumbling to the earth below. She stared pointedly at the damaged stump that remained, not breathing. Emmett placed an ice cold hand on her shoulder, and she leaned into it. "What if the Volturi get me?"

"They can't make you do anything you don't want to do," he said. "If they had that power, they wouldn't need you, not would they?" He smiled at her and pulled her in closer. He wrapped his thick, muscular arms around her, and Daisha could feel the sheer muscle underneath them tighten. "If they get you, just refuse to do anything they tell you to until I can get in and save you. And I will. Deal?"

Daisha nodded in his arms, her mind a thousand miles away.

* * *

Jane stepped into yet another dark alley, following the scent of the unfamiliar vampire. She was enraged. How dare Caius assign her this lowly grunt work? She deserved more challenging missions than tracking down lowly vampires in downtown Seattle. She should be out on the front lines with the others. As she narrowly avoided a dark puddle, she silently cursed the whole mission.

On the plus side, she thought, at least her brother Alec had arrived today. Having him in their ranks made Jane that much more confident that they would prevail. Without Alec, Jane always felt a little lost, but now that they were together once more, it was difficult for her to have a pessimistic feeling about Caius' insane mission. Not to mention that Alec's ability to teleport virtually anywhere in the world in a matter of mere seconds would greatly help everyone out. His gift was widely praised throughout the entire Volturi, and without him, Jane didn't see how Aro stood a chance.

The ridiculously cheerful Caius was back in their part of the forest discussing plans on getting Carlisle out of Forks. Carlisle was the glue that held the rest of his coven together. Without him, the rest would surely crumble, and make picking them off that much easier. Jane had to admit, even with scouring the city looking for a loner vampire, the plan did seem like it would go off without a hitch.

Suddenly, she stopped and took a deep breath. She was close to him now, and they both knew it.

"Come on out," Jane taunted. "I've been following you for the last twenty minutes. Surely you're getting tired of this game."

"I never get tired of games," a hissing voice rattled back.

Jane sighed. "Show yourself."

After a moment's pause, a tall, lanky man stepped out. He wore sunglasses and smelled of dry blood. Jane crinkled her nose at the sight of him.

"It's about time," she muttered.

"Why are you following me?" the man asked, cocking his head. "A child such as yourself, surely you must know what I am."

Jane scowled. Child? Her? She would show this scum just how much of a child she was. With the slightest of efforts, she glared at the man in the darkness of the alley. In less than a second, he had fallen to the ground and was rolling, gasping for help. Jane continued to focus on her gift, making sure that this man never forgot who she was.

After several minutes of watching him writhe in agony, he fell limp, and Jane lost interest. Slowly, she approached him, and kneeled down next to the still softly shuddering body.

"Who... are... you?" he managed to force out.

"A few months ago," Jane said as she kicked him over, forcing him to look at her, "you bit a young girl named Daisha. After leaving her to die, you inadvertently turned her into a vampire, like us."

The man looked at Jane with a mixture of pain and confusion. "What..." he choked out.

Jane's pouty, childish lips curved upward into a maniacal grin, and she stood, her small stature towering above the scum that cowered beneath her. "You're going to pay her a little visit."


	5. Alone

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Any original content, however, is probably mine.

**A/N:** This is actually the second part to a previous story, also on this site, called Dusk. If you haven't read the original, I highly reccomend you do so before you begin reading this part, as much of it will not make sense without information in the first part. Also, just a reminder that the four main characters are real people, people that I know, and some of the content contained in later chapters may anger some people. That being said, I did try to keep the characters as close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote them, though I know I could never get them perfect. If you feel so inspired, please feel free to review with criticism or compliments.

**Chapter 18 -- Alone**

"Carlisle," Esme said in soft and tender, yet powerful voice. "You can't leave now. We need you here. With everything going on, I don't know if--"

"Everything will be fine," Carlisle insisted. "You know I have to go. Aro needs all the help he can get, he needs to know exactly what's coming to him."

Esme sighed deeply and leaned back against the wall. "Carlisle..." she whispered. "Alice's visions. You shaking hands with Aro... This is just the beginning. Everything else will fall after this."

Carlisle took a deep breath and walked over to Esme, a reassuring look on his face. "Trust me, my dear. Once Aro is told of Caius' plans, we can turn our efforts to stopping him. Aro hopefully still has much of the Volturi behind him."

"Hurry," Esme mouthed, but no sound came out. Carlisle understood nevertheless, and he bent down slightly to kiss her softly on the lips, where he lingered for a moment, before straightening up again.

"You won't even notice I'm gone," he reassured her with a smile. With that, he turned and left the house, plane ticket sticking out of his pocket. Esme turned her head towards the wall and prayed for her most beloved's safe return, mourning and distress already in her eyes.

* * *

Jacob's heavy paw thudded against the ground as he stepped over a recently fallen tree trunk. He raised his nose and took a deep breath in, testing the air for any vampires. Frustratingly, he couldn't smell a leech for miles, royal or not. He was fairly certain that he could make out a trace of Edward's stench somewhere to his left, so he immediately switched his course and headed to the right, hoping to avoid that confrontation at all costs.

He had overheard Carlisle telling Esme earlier that the rebel bloodsucker's ranks were growing. They now supposedly had a teleporter amongst them by the name of Alec. That would make finding them all but impossible. They could be anywhere on the planet, and here Jacob was, searching a forest mere miles away from the Cullen's home. There was no way they would be stupid enough to stay around here, and yet Jacob searched on anyway.

He had to find them, for Jessica. He had to make sure that no one would hurt her. If he was dead, that would leave no one to protect her, not like Jacob would. He needed her, loved her more than he ever thought he could love anything. The pain it caused him was almost unbearable, knowing that she was upset with him. Did she really expect him to be perfect all the time? Well, he wasn't. He too needed to blow off some steam every once in a while, and his temper was a bit of a problem as well. It came with the fur.

He mentally kicked himself for not going after her back at the house. He knew that he should've done something, anything to make her realize that he cared about her more than even she could imagine, but he didn't. Now it was too late. He was hours away and his mind was made up to find and kill the Volturi outcasts before they got to him. He would do it. He had to do it.

Jacob would not rest, he would not stop until he made sure Jessica was safe from any and all harm. With a fresh burst of energy, Jacob forced himself to leap ahead, bound with new determination to end this.

* * *

Sarah and Joe sat behind the stairs, silently listening to Esme and Carlisle argue. Every few sentences, they would turn to each other, mouths agape at what they were hearing. After several tense moments, they heard Carlisle open the front door and walk out, shutting it tightly behind him. They heard Esme's heavy sigh as she trudge up the stairs, narrowly avoiding to two eavesdroppers.

"Carlisle's leaving..." Sarah said softly as she slowly relaxed into a more comfortable position on the floor. "Wow."

"No," Joe said quickly, a hint of hysteria in his voice, "not wow. With Carlisle gone, the Volturi are free to attack us at any time and we're sitting ducks."

"Just because Carlisle not here doesn't mean we're completely defenseless," Sarah retorted. "We still have the rest of the Cullens, and Jacob."

"I wish they were here now," Joe said poutingly. "Right now it's just you, me, and Esme. I know she's a vampire, but I don't think she could handle the Volturi."

As the reality sunk into Sarah, she looked around, paranoid. "I wish Edward and Jasper would get back from looking for Jacob and Jessica. I'd feel safer with them here."

"Yeah," Joe agreed. "Or Emmett."

Sarah nodded in assertion.

"Have you noticed that it's always Jessica who goes missing?" Joe asked suddenly.

"Unfortunately," Sarah mumbled, "yes. It's kind of annoying, always having to look for her. Last time she was out relaxing with Jacob the entire time. I swear... If she and Jacob left to go back to their perfect little life, with their special little happiness, I'm gonna kick her ass next time I see her."

Joe laughed meekly. "I can't see you kicking anyones ass."

"I could try," Sarah said with a grin. "You don't know."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, just listening to the soft rain fall outside. At some point, Joe closed his eyes and had begun to drift to sleep. He thought he heard Sarah ask him another question, but he wasn't sure if it was in reality or in the odd dream he was slipping in to.

* * *

Jessica stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and looked around, wondering if anyone had seen her. She had been in her own little world, and now she looked around, not sure exactly where she was.

She had hitchhiked all the way to Port Angeles and had wandered aimlessly for hours since then. She had no idea why she was here, she only knew that she needed to get away for a while. She couldn't take being mad at Jacob. She wasn't even really mad at him, she had just lost her temper for a moment. Now, however, she felt more sorry than anything. Sorry she had walked away, sorry she had come here, sorry she had put herself in so much potential danger. What was she thinking, hitchhiking? That was something she never thought she would do.

As she passed a large, empty window she glanced into it and stopped to examine herself for a second. Her hair was stringy and dirty, she hadn't had a shower since Alice and Bella had come to retrieve them. Even more disgusting, her hair smelled strongly of cigarette smoke from the men she had gotten a ride from. They had put up a polite front, but openly leered at her when they thought she wasn't looking, and Jessica was relieved when they had pulled up to a small store in Port Angeles and they let her go without any trouble.

In the faded and dusty glass, she could also see that her makeup was faded and running from a mixture of tears and rain. She felt like a wreck, and her exterior matched that pretty well. She groaned as she looked up at the sky and heard the low rumble of far away thunder. With renewed vigor to avoid the storm, she began walking aimlessly once more, not sure what she was looking for.

The fight with Jacob had come at a particularly bad time for her. For weeks now she had been trying to tell Jacob something, something important, and today was the day she had decided to break the news to him. She let her hand rub her increasingly swelling belly and she closed her eyes for a brief moment, willing the tears to go away. She was grateful that everyone seemed oblivious to the fact that the bulge in her stomach was growing larger and larger each day, and three times in the past week she had woken up running to the bathroom to throw up.

Alice's vision about Jacob though... If something happened to him, if he was hurt, or... killed... How could she possibly raise a child alone? How could she even go on living her own life without him? She needed the vision to be wrong, not only for her, but for his child as well. For their child.

A group of giggling girls stopped to turn around and stare at Jessica and she realized how she must look to them. Just another knocked up homeless girl, wandering the streets. Jessica slowly bowed her head and kept walking, unable to look her spectators in their eyes.

The sky was growing darker by the minute, and Jessica still didn't have any idea how she was supposed to get back to the Cullen's house. Jacob wouldn't be around to rescue her any time soon. Her trail would be almost impossible to follow, what with the smoke filled car and now wandering through the maze of streets with no destination in mind. She was alone, truly alone, and she was shocked at how much it surprised and hurt her to realize the truth.

Without warning, a streetlight she was passing blazed to life, illuminating with harsh brightness the street around her. She glances around and saw that there didn't seem to be anyone around. Everyone was inside in preparation for the growing thunder and whatever would come with it. Jessica sniffed, the air growing cold. She noticed a street sign near her and she shuffled forward to read it. Roseburry Ave. She noticed a large stone fountain about 50 yards down the road and she began walking towards it absentmindedly. Something, however, felt out of place to her, and she couldn't quite place what it was. She reached the fountain and peered over edge into the murky water and frowned at her distorted reflection. Her falling tears splashing lightly in the fountain below sent ripples flowing outward to the edged, and Jessica watched them with bleary eyes. Suddenly, the entire fountain was rippling as raindrops joined her tears and began smacking the surface of the water. Jessica groaned heavily, turning around and looking for shelter of some sort. That's when she realized what was so out of place about this street.

Cobblestone bricks layered the ground, creating a rough, uneven surface.

Without stopping to think, Jessica ran as hard as she could away from Roseburry Ave, determined to never see that street again.

* * *

Edward and Jasper searched the woods in near silence, both of them looking up as the rain began to fall.

"We need to head back soon," Edward called out to his brother.

Jasper ignored him at first, continuing on his search for a few more minutes. "I don't think Jacob and Jessica are together anymore," Jasper said suddenly. "I can only smell wolf here."

"The human scent can easily be lost inside the odor of a dog," Edward replied disdainfully. "Jacob isn't likely to just leave Jessica alone anywhere, not with everything that's going on."

"I know that," Jasper said simply. He stopped and looked around for a moment. "You're right," he sighed finally. "We should head back. We're not going to get anywhere else tonight."

"Besides," Edward said as he turned and began jogging towards the house. "I'm sure Carlisle is tired of babysitting the humans."

Jasper smiled and dashed to catch up with his brother, falling into pace with him.

"Jasper," Edward finally said, "you really care about Joe?"

Jasper threw a sidelong glance at Edward. "Reading my thoughts again, brother?"

"It's hard not to," Edward shot back playfully, "when they're screaming at me."

"Then you should know how I feel without having to ask," Jasper replied.

"So it's not just a physical attraction?" Edward asked, trying to understand. "It's... oh."

"Yes," Jasper said softly.

"Similar to the way I feel about Sarah, or... Bella." Edward's voice trailed off after Bella's name, and he was surprised to feel pain shoot through his chest at the thought of her.

Jasper looked curiously at Edward. "Your emotions betray you," he said softly as they dashed in and out of trees. "You still love her."

"How could I not?" Edward asked. "Feelings like that don't disappear overnight... or at all. I will likely always love Bella. However, each of us has made our choices. When I thought she was dead, just as I was beginning to give up hope, Sarah came into mu life and showed me that I still had things to live for. Sarah showed me, somehow, that love is a fickle creature, and that it's capable to playing tricks on you even when you think you've got it all figured out."

"You love Bella with a part of you," Jasper said as he felt his brothers feelings, "but Sarah possesses a part of you as well. How can you care about two people so deeply? I may never understand how one person can contain so much love. You're beginning to feel like Esme."

Edward smiled. "I don't think I could ever hold as much love in my heart as Esme does."

"Edward!" Jasper yelled suddenly, skidding to a stop on wet leaves and grass. Edward too stopped in an instant, sliding for several feet before he was able to remain completely motionless.

"I smell it too," Edward said softly.

The two of them moved slowly through the trees, following the trail of odor left recently. It didn't take long before they saw their target.

The gargantuan russet wolf raised his head as the two vampires approached him. For a split second, they all three looked at each other, and then Jacob dashed into the woods alone.

"Where did he go?" Jasper asked, shocked.

"Privacy," Edward explained.

Sure enough, a few moments later, Jacob emerged from the trees fully human, wearing a pair of baggy cut off sweatpants.

"Where have you been?" Jasper shot out. "We've been searching for you al day!"

"I went looking for the Volturi," Jacob said, panting. "I need to stop my future from coming true."

"You and everyone else," Edward muttered.

"Did you find them?" Jasper asked anxiously.

"Of course not," Edward answered for him. "He's still alive."

"Thanks for the confidence," Jacob responded angrily.

"That was stupid," Edward said, his voice steady. "How could you take Jessica on a suicide mission like this and --" Edward stopped suddenly, looking at Jacob with an unbelieving expression on his face. "You don't know where Jessica is."

"She's not at the house?" Jacob asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

"No," Jasper said, "we assumed she was with you."

"Damn it!" Jacob yelled, and he began pacing. "I have to find her!"

"Jasper," Edward said softly, not taking his eyes off the enraged werewolf. "Could you..."

Before Jasper could attempt to calm Jacob, however, the boy suddenly exploded in a burst of fur and fangs and took off, dashing through the trees with such speed that even Edward was shocked silent.

"I hope he finds her," Jasper said softly.

"We need to get home," Edward said clearly. "Now."

* * *

Daisha sat on the wet grass, letting the rain fall all around her. She relished in the feeling of the cold water on her stone cold flesh. It was one of her favorite things about being a vampire, the way things felt now with such strong skin.

She heard footsteps behind her and she sniffed the air, expecting a familiar scent. When she didn't recognize the smell, however, she turned and looked through the darkness at who was approaching her.

In less than a second, she was on her feet, teeth bared, a growl ripping through her throat. The approaching man stopped and put his hands in his pockets, giving Daisha an over friendly grin.

Daisha knew the face, she would never forget it. Just seeing it now made her muscles tense in fear. Her memories of this man were all very painful and very frightened, short as they were. The man who made her what she was, who turned her into a monster.

"My," the eerie man began as he began to circle around Daisha. "I certainly did a good job on you. You look fantastic..."

With a roar, Daisha lunged at him, but he sidestepped her easily and she landed on her feet, spinning around again for a second try.

"Hold on!" he yelled, holding up his hands. "I just have a few things I need to tell you."

"Then talk," Daisha said in a low tone. "But do it fast, or your head is getting disconnected from the rest of your body."

"Alright," the man said, putting his hands behind his back. "I would imagine the name Emmett Cullen means something to you."

Daisha stopped, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"I thought so," he said with a smile. "What would you do if I told you that you becoming a vampire wasn't entirely my fault?"

"I'd say you're insane," Daisha shot back with venom.

The man chuckled. "You're feisty! I remember that about you."

Daisha growled, and the man took that as his cue to continue what he came there to say.

"Emmett Cullen," he said with a grin, "told me to turn you into a vampire."

Daisha stopped for a second, not sure of what he was saying. "What?"

"Yep," the man continued, "he came up to me, explained to me the situation, asked me to --"

"Shut up!" Daisha yelled, glaring at the cocky vampire. "Emmett wouldn't do that, he loves me!"

"Exactly," the man said with a wicked grin. "Enough to want to be with you forever, perhaps?"

In an instant, Daisha's common sense was lost, replaced only by pure, inconsolable rage. She had felt this sort of anger when she first became a vampire, but with Emmett's help, she had overcome those feelings, learned self control. That was all gone though, and she felt herself losing control, shifting back into second gear, letting her instincts take control.

So quickly that she didn't even appear to have moved, Daisha's leg snapped out and smacked into the man's head, sending it flying through the air with a crash that blended in perfectly with the thunder above. Slowly, Daisha took in a deep breath and could smell Emmett a few miles away, walking with Alice towards the house. With a vicious snarl, she leapt through the air and began charging towards Emmett, fueled by revenge and rage.


	6. Answers

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Any original content, however, is probably mine.

**A/N:** This is actually the second part to a previous story, also on this site, called Dusk. If you haven't read the original, I highly reccomend you do so before you begin reading this part, as much of it will not make sense without information in the first part. Also, just a reminder that the four main characters are real people, people that I know, and some of the content contained in later chapters may anger some people. That being said, I did try to keep the characters as close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote them, though I know I could never get them perfect. If you feel so inspired, please feel free to review with criticism or compliments.

**Chapter 19 -- Answers**

Sarah and Joe sat silently on the Cullen's long sofa, watching as Esme stood at the large front window and gazed out, her expression worried and set in stone. Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and Edward were all supposed to be back at the house by now, but no one had seen or heard from them since their departure earlier. As for Daisha, Jacob, and Jessica, Joe and Sarah could only imagine where they might by. For all they knew, Daisha was already in the Volturi's clutches.

Just the thought of the Volturi, however, was enough to send Sarah into a panic attack. If any of them were to attack right now, Joe and Sarah would be almost completely defenseless against them. Esme was there, and she would be able to hold them off for a small time, but she wasn't a particularly skilled fighter, and by herself against any of the Volturi, it would only be a matter of time before they finished her off and came for the two humans.

From the look on Esme's face, Joe and Sarah knew exactly what she wanted. She longed to be outside, searching for her beloved family. She needed to do something instead of standing there, completely useless. Joe and Sarah couldn't be left alone and without protection though, and taking them with her was completely out of the question, so she stayed put, dutiful and bound by her faith in her family to pull through.

"Did you guys here that?" Joe asked suddenly, his head darting in the direction of the front door.

But before his sentence was even out of his mouth, Esme had the door open and one foot was outside.

"Stay here," she warned them both. Joe and Sarah rose to their feet in confusion and fear, but Esme had already slammed the door behind her as she sped across the front yard.

"What was it?" Sarah asked. "What did you hear Joe? I didn't hear anything."

Joe ignored his friend's questions and strode to the window, gazing into the darkness of the yard. Sarah followed eagerly, and pressed her forehead against the cool glass, straining her eyes to find anything in the darkness outside. After a few minutes, their eyes managed to spot moving figures in the distance, and as they adjusted to the blackness outside, the scene playing before them caused both their jaws to drop.

Alice and Emmett could be seen walking towards the house, oblivious to their surroundings. Their pale skin contrasted harshly with the darkness all around them, and made them that much easier to distinguish in the night haze. About fifty yards away from them, Daisha was a literal blur, hurling herself towards the two Cullens at an unimaginable speed. Esme's retreating figure was running towards Daisha, trying to reach her before Daisha reached the other two. With shock, Joe and Sarah watched as Esme reached Daisha and reached out an arm to stop her, and with a crack the sounded like thunder, Daisha knocked Esme back almost to the front porch with a single blow, not missing a step.

Sarah let out a small scream and stepped back, clearly disturbed by what she had witnessed. Joe, however, remained frozen in place, unable to look away from the horrific scene. He watched as Daisha finally reached her target and collided with Emmett and Alice, sending all three of them tumbling into the ground. Joe pounded his fist against the pane and let loose an angry growl to rival Edward's. Sarah placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him, and he stood like that for several minutes, not watching out the window, just trying to calm his breathing.

He would have stood like that for years, content to never move again, if it weren't for a strange whooshing noise behind him that sounded like a small tornado had suddenly appeared and dissipated in the house behind in the span of a few seconds.

Joe and Sarah both spun around at the same time, only to be greeted by a young boy. He had dark brown hair and blood red eyes that matched his pearly skin perfectly. He was probably twelve or thirteen years old, and if it weren't for the black robes that swayed around him, Joe and Sarah wouldn't have felt paralyzed with fear at the sight of him.

"Sarah and Joe, I presume," he said in a surprisingly deep voice for such a young looking child.

Not knowing what else to do, Joe nodded. Sarah took a step back and placed herself behind Joe, wanting to put as much space between her and the intruder as she possibly could.

"My name is Alec," the boy introduced with a slight nod. He acted unbearable cocky, as if he was so sure of himself, and it drove Joe insane.

"Jane's twin," Sarah said in a shaky voice, almost a whisper. "You're a teleporter."

For the first time, Alec's smug smile faltered slightly. "You're better informed than I expected you to be."

"What's happening outside?" Joe demanded in the pause. "Why is Daisha attacking Emmett and Alice?"

"Alice was merely caught in the attack," Alec mused out loud. "The fact that she got in the way is none of our concern."

"Emmett then," Joe snapped with a shake of his head, "whatever. Why is she attacking Emmett?"

"Emmett's death will serve two purposes," Alec replied tauntingly.

"What are they?" Sarah asked, her voice gaining strength as more time passed without her being attacked.

"I suppose," Alec said with mock thought, "telling you wouldn't hurt. You'll both be dead soon anyway." Joe and Sarah both flinched at these words, unsure of what to make of them. "The first purpose of Emmett's death is to sever the ties that Daisha holds to this place. Once her lover is dead, only one person will be able to stop her from coming to us."

"Who's that?" Joe asked, hoping that the answer would be someone strong, someone capable.

"You," Alec said with a flash of his wicked grin.

Joe stood in silence for several minutes, unsure of what to think. Him? How could he stop Daisha from doing anything? Sure, they used to be best friends, but now that she was a vampire, he could hardly talk to her, let alone force her to do anything against her will.

"And the second purpose?" Sarah asked, not getting distracted by the rush of new information.

"To distract everyone, of course," was Alec's response, and he shifted his small feet to a different, more aggressive stance.

"Distract them from what?" Sarah choked out.

"This!" he shrieked and jumped towards the two of them. Joe sidestepped the young vampire, and Sarah only narrowly avoided his grasp by taking the tiniest of jumps backward.

"Sarah!" Joe yelled, realizing that he had inadvertently placed his friend in danger. In a flash, Joe snapped his arm out and grabbed Sarah's wrist, dragging her behind him as he made a made scramble for the door, knocking a small end table out of the way with his shin as he did so. He blindly ignored the pain and continued for his escape, ignoring everything around him until, with a roar of wind, Alec appeared in front of the door, his deep black cloak swirling around him.

In an attempt to keep from colliding with the boy, Joe dropped to the ground and rolled into a tangled pile with Sarah. For a second, he tried to gain his bearings on where he was and what was happening, and then he felt Alec's shoe collide forcefully with his gut, making his vision swim and his lungs empty. As he attempted to struggle to his feet, he could feel Sarah being pulled away from him, and he fought to keep hold of her. After several seconds of failed attempts to reach his feet, Joe finally brought himself up to one knee, panting and trying to focus through his bleary eyes. He could just barely make out a very pissed off looking Alec forcing a struggling Sarah to her feet.

"Joe! she screamed, begging and pleading in a raspy voice to be rescued. She tried with all her strength to break Alec's grip on her wrist, but to no avail.

Joe grunted heavily as he forced himself forward, ignoring the screaming in his lungs, trying as hard as he could to save his friend. He held out his hand, stretching to the end of his fingertips to reach her in time. With a maniacal laugh, however, a burst of wind blew Joe backward and he collided with the front door, feeling it buckle with the force he had hit it with. He had seen Sarah's hair rustle around her face from the wind, her look of fear and despair resonating in every muscle in her body, and then she had been gone, the wind whisking her away to some unknown destination, and Alec's laugh echoed in the large front room long after they had gone.

Joe laid there, his ears ringing as he slumped against the heavy oak door, his breathing ragged. Unable to face reality, he closed his eyes and forced the angry tears away, not allowing them to flow, and waited for someone to rescue them all.

* * *

Jasper and Edward stopped suddenly, unsure of what was happening as they emerged form the thick foliage of the woods surrounding their home. In the distance, they saw Daisha, Emmett, and Alice tangled in a fast moving blur as they fought, and a small lump in the lawn alerted Edward to a more immediate problem.

"Esme!" he yelled as he shot through the air, stopping by the fallen body of his mother. "Are you okay?"

She gingerly rose to her feet and leaned against Edward. Even with the obvious pain betraying her face, she remained determined to not let it show through and forced a reassuring smile for the sake of her children. In the darkness and with the pain of Daisha's last blow, her smile looked more like an eerie grimace than anything close to reassuring.

"That Daisha..." she muttered, "she's quite the fighter, isn't she?"

"She could give Emmett a run for his money," Jasper said, his gaze moving from Esme to the fighting figures a few hundred yards away.

"Where's Carlisle?" Edward asked suddenly, looking around. "He would know what to do."

"Italy," Esme said softly, her large almond eyes on the ground determinedly. "He left to make plans with Aro."

"Damn it," Edward spat, his stone cold hand balling into a fist. "Daisha..."

"What?" Jasper asked, looking at his brother with confusion.

"She thinks that Emmett had her changed into a vampire. So he could have her." The look on Edward's voice told both Jasper and Esme that whatever Daisha was thinking, it was as far from the truth as it could be. "Her thoughts are scrambled... it's hard to tell everything that happened."

"Emmett won't fight back," Jasper said matter of factly. "He would never hurt her."

"She'll make him fight," Esme said, rising to her fight. "Jasper, you have to get over there and do everything in your power to calm her down."

Even before her sentence was finished, Jasper was sprinting across the yard towards the fighting vampires. Edward looked at Esme with pleading eyes.

"I don't know," he replied to her thoughts.

* * *

Daisha stood over the two fallen vampires, her eyes dark and cold. Emmett looked up at her with actual fear in his eyes, and Alice quaked with an urge to attack her, to fight back.

"Emmet," Alice said out of the corner of her mouth, "remember my vision..."

"I know," he answered, "I know."

Daisha smiled at her lover, but there wasn't an ounce of love in it. "Guess who I just killed, Emmett," she taunted.

He continued to look up at her with confusion, not even moving to get to his feet.

"I'll give you a hint," she continued. "You hired him to turn me into a vampire. Ring any bells?"

"What are you --" Emmett began, but he was cut off by Jasper's voice as he ran up to join them.

"Daisha, stop!" As Jasper approached them, they all felt the change in the air around them as he brought an intense calm over them. "It's not true, Emmett didn't --"

Daisha spun around, her dark hair flying wildly through the air as her dark red eyes locked onto Jasper's gold, and she could feel the familiar connection to her victims will that she knew she wasn't supposed to use. Jasper tried in vain to look away, but he too could feel the connection between Daisha and him, and he knew it was pointless to try to break the stare.

Daisha knew she wasn't supposed to use her powers like this. Carlisle had warned against it time and time again, but she was beyond caring about that now. She was beyond caring about anything. "Shut up," she said, and Jasper could hear her words burning into him, forcing their way into his mind. He knew it was fruitless to try and disobey, but he found his mouth opening anyway. He tried to say something, anything, but no sound came out.

Daisha smiled a little at the force of her power that she had kept locked within her for so long. "You're not going to use your powers to control anyone's emotions anymore," she shot, and she could once again feel her words controlling her victim. Satisfied, Daisha finally broke the eye contact she held with Jasper and felt their connection break as the blonde vampire fell to the ground, his pleas for help never leaving his mouth.

Daisha turned slowly back around to face the other two and realized that Alice was gone, her retreating figure running to join Edward and Esme at the house. No matter. She had enough to deal with here. She looked down at Emmett and was amused to see that his eyes were glued to the ground, unwilling to look up at her.

"So," she said with a fake air of boredom. "Why did you have me turned into a monster?" Without warning, she brought her knee sharply up into Emmett's jaw, sending him sprawling back. "Are you into that sort of thing," she continued as if nothing had happened. "Turning innocent girls into dangerous beasts?" As he slowly rose to his feet once more, Daisha punched him in the gut, bringing him back down to his knees. "Why won't you fight me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emmett said softly, his eyes still focused on the ground. "I would never do anything to hurt you, and I will never fight you."

"Yes you will," Daisha shot with a sneer. "Look at me!"

Emmett refused even to flinch.

"I said look at me!" she screamed fiercely pushing him to the ground and driving her foot into his temple. "Fight back! Fight me! You think you're so good, you think you can just change my life around like that, you already killed me once, get up and attack me!"

"No," he whispered, knowing she could hear him perfectly. He kept his eyes focused away from her, refusing to look into hers. His rock hard body was looking past beaten, and his resolve was well worn, but he continued to refuse to hold his hand up to her. "I'll never fight you!"

Daisha knelt down and grabbed his chin in her hand and jerked his face up to hers. She placed her ice cold lips against his, and she could feel his confusion betray him as he began to kiss her back. For several minutes, they continued to kiss passionately, and for the smallest fraction of a second, Emmett wondered if she was through with torturing him. Then she yanked her face away from his and, just as she hoped, his eyes shot open and he was looking directly into hers.

Daisha smiled as she watched Emmett visibly struggle to break their eye contact, but to no avail. Even though her hand no longer held him in place, he couldn't look away, and Daisha stood slowly, holding her eyes on his.

"Now," she said, her smile gone, replaced with a scowl. Underneath though, Emmett could see fear and unknowing in her expression. "Fight me, and don't stop until one of us is dead."

* * *

A/N: I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry that this took about 6 years to get up. What with moving into college and starting school and all this other stuff... time has been very pressed lately. :( I sincerely hope that you all don't hate me completely now, and I hope to get the last few chapters up within the next few weeks. :) I love you all!


End file.
